Staying with Xbox (360 to One)

Changing to Playstation (360 to PS4)

Changing to Xbox (PS3 to One)

I changed my mind from "Xbox One pre-order" to "Xbox One purchase in 2014." That didn't have anything to do with either of the consoles, though - I had to purchase a new vehicle, which was a bit more important a new gaming system.

I owned an original Xbox until it was stolen in 2006. I currently own a Xbox 360. I am a big Halo fan. Even though I dislike Microsoft new rules, I have not decided yet on which console to buy. I dislike Sony controllers. They are too small. Xbox controllers are the right size for my hands. I must take a look at the exclusive PS4 titles before I decide.

I dislike Sony controllers. They are too small. Xbox controllers are the right size for my hands. I must take a look at the exclusive PS4 titles before I decide.

Click to expand...

I had the exact same feeling about prior generations of Sony controllers. The DualShock 4 fixes this problem, in my book. It's big enough now, and the triggers are no longer mushy crap. (And game developers noticed - they're now using the triggers instead of the bumpers in FPSes.)

One thing I wish more gaming and tech sites would focus on is the absurdity that MS released an all-encompassing media box and then put most of the media functionality behind the Xbox Live paywall. The consensus seems to be that the PS4 is the better games console and that the Xbox One is the better media centre, but that's only true if you're willing to pay the subscription. Netflix and other VOD apps are behind the paywall, Skype is behind the paywall, the internet browser is behind the paywall, even the live TV stuff is behind the paywall. With a free account all you can do on the console is play singleplayer games and watch blu-rays, which makes it a pretty crappy media centre.

For someone like me, someone that has little interest in online multiplayer but wants to be able to watch Netflix and use other online services on my TV, the PS4 is the far more attractive option. MS have done a decent job of backtracking on most of their unpopular policies, but until MS backs down on that asinine paywall for third-party services, I'm not even going to consider getting the Xbox One over the PS4.

One thing I wish more gaming and tech sites would focus on is the absurdity that MS released an all-encompassing media box and then put most of the media functionality behind the Xbox Live paywall. The consensus seems to be that the PS4 is the better games console and that the Xbox One is the better media centre, but that's only true if you're willing to pay the subscription. Netflix and other VOD apps are behind the paywall, Skype is behind the paywall, the internet browser is behind the paywall, even the live TV stuff is behind the paywall. With a free account all you can do on the console is play singleplayer games and watch blu-rays, which makes it a pretty crappy media centre.

For someone like me, someone that has little interest in online multiplayer but wants to be able to watch Netflix and use other online services on my TV, the PS4 is the far more attractive option. MS have done a decent job of backtracking on most of their unpopular policies, but until MS backs down on that asinine paywall for third-party services, I'm not even going to consider getting the Xbox One over the PS4.

Click to expand...

I've noticed that too and it's kind of odd.

MS evidently has bigger plans for the XO other than just being a games console primarily and that's ok. However they are, at least in my eyes, actively hindering the proliferation of these features even so far that many of them won't work properly outside of the US or have only reduced features and offerings.

Now this is very early in this generation's cycle (d'uh) so things will improve and broaden but i'm wondering why MS isn't taking a clue from itself and do the same as with the Xbox 1 launch where they effectively gave it away just to break into the market and establish their own corner.

I've seen very few in depth reports about the multimedia functionality of the XO and that's puzzling giving how much MS initially advertised it (they even have the mandatory Kinect 2 in the bundle to take advantage of it) so where's the support?

It seems MS is no longer willing to take a loss and wants to make profits as soon as possible.. nothing wrong with that but i believe it to be a mistake if you want to introduce a big feature that people have not adopted yet and charge for it which is another obstacle to overcome which didn't have to be.

In another news:

MS reports 1 million sold units worldwide in the first 24 hours but Sony had this number with only North America.. Europe, Asia and the rest of the world are still to follow giving the impression that this generation the PS4 will blow the XO out of the water saleswise (however, as always, too soon to tell definitely).

Yeah, certainly an odd decision to make considering how much they're hyping the media aspects. Seems like they love their paywall, but I'm surprised that they're sticking to it considering the hate for it with the 360. I'd have thought this would be one of the things they would have learned from, and in a way, it's even more stringent here. It should be enough that access to each service is needed. A lot of people are going to be disappointed when they come to find out that most of the functionality that is being advertised is locked unless they pay. Frankly this stuff should be available, ready out of the box. If MS wants the XBone to be gateway to the living room, then why lock those gates?

What makes it even weirder is that MS are rumoured to be working on a media-only Xbox that wont play games (according to Paul Thurrott, who has a good track record of leaking correct info about MS). Such a machine would be cheaper and targeted at the mass market, but if it also required a subscription to use its media functionality then it would surely flop. But there's no way MS could get away with letting people use the media functionality on this new rumoured Xbox for free while continuing to fleece gamers, surely they're not crazy enough to try that?

There's a chance the PS4 might do backwards compatibility via a cloud service but that's not concrete yet.

Click to expand...

The only reason I want backwards compatibility is that I would like to play the old games in higher resolution and better anti aliasing. I don't think this will be the case. So I will just dust off my PS3 any time I want to play a PS3 game. No need for a cloud service that they eventually will shut down at some point.

The only reason I want backwards compatibility is that I would like to play the old games in higher resolution and better anti aliasing. I don't think this will be the case. So I will just dust off my PS3 any time I want to play a PS3 game. No need for a cloud service that they eventually will shut down at some point.

Click to expand...

If "eventual shutdown" is your worry, then you'd have to keep your PS3 around anyways; even if the PS4 had backwards compatibility, Sony would likely have killed it with a firmware update in a year or three, just like OtherOS.

What makes it even weirder is that MS are rumoured to be working on a media-only Xbox that wont play games (according to Paul Thurrott, who has a good track record of leaking correct info about MS). Such a machine would be cheaper and targeted at the mass market, but if it also required a subscription to use its media functionality then it would surely flop. But there's no way MS could get away with letting people use the media functionality on this new rumoured Xbox for free while continuing to fleece gamers, surely they're not crazy enough to try that?

Click to expand...

Yeah, they're already targetting the mass-market with this one over hardcore gamers, a market that IMO, wouldn't be very likely to pay in order to use those very services that are being aimed at them. So, my guess is they're going to have a very hard time convincing people to pay up for services that are being hyped up when they find out they can't use them otherwise. I think that tactic will backfire on them. Some will likely cry false advertising.

Microsoft really needs a revamp of their PR department. They had something innovative, they could've moved console gaming forward but they fucked up. They explained it so poorly that now all we have is a slightly more powerful 360.

And Sony exploited that, basically touting the PS4 as the Anti-XboxOne, and it worked. After the initial announcements, I remember some news outlets saying that 9 out of 10 gamers were going to PS4, including long-time 360 players. Since that time, MS has done some monumental back-peddling to regain some of their market share, but I really don't think they'll succeed until they come out with a non-Kinnect SKU offering.

That had cloud based gaming similar to Steam and the ability to share such games with friends. The only "problems" I saw was the daily check in, which wouldn't have inconvenienced the vast majority of users anyway, and the always on Kinect, which I consider a silly complaint anyway because why on Earth would MS want to watch me play BF4 in my room?

And Sony exploited that, basically touting the PS4 as the Anti-XboxOne, and it worked. After the initial announcements, I remember some news outlets saying that 9 out of 10 gamers were going to PS4, including long-time 360 players. Since that time, MS has done some monumental back-peddling to regain some of their market share, but I really don't think they'll succeed until they come out with a non-Kinnect SKU offering.

Click to expand...

Ironically, the backpedaling hurt them with me. Family Sharing was the main reason I was considering an Xbox One over a PS4. Without that... well, I went with the better system for non-exclusives.

...For someone like me, someone that has little interest in online multiplayer but wants to be able to watch Netflix and use other online services on my TV, the PS4 is the far more attractive option. MS have done a decent job of backtracking on most of their unpopular policies, but until MS backs down on that asinine paywall for third-party services, I'm not even going to consider getting the Xbox One over the PS4.

They explained it so poorly that now all we have is a slightly more powerful 360.

Click to expand...

As someone who likes their 360 (except the paywall stuff), a more powerful version of it sounds great.

I find this idea that games consoles should attempt to reinvent the wheel each generation to be daft, and it's something that has only cropped up since the Xbox One reveal, funnily enough. Nobody was crying out for such things in previous generations, people just seemed to be happy to purchase new games consoles that were more powerful than the previous generation. The PS1 could play CDs and the PS2 could play DVDs, but they were still predominantly games consoles.

Then the PS3 was announced as an all-in-one entertainment box... and nobody bought the damn thing. It wasn't until there was a steep price cut and some great exclusive games that the PS3 really took off. People bought the Wii instead because that seemed like a fun new way to play games. Which it was, for a couple of weeks. That's when people realised that motion controls weren't as useful for playing games as the boring old controllers, and Wiis around the world began gathering dust as gamers went back to playing Xbox and Playstation. Then the Kinect came out and made the Wii controls seem good by comparison.

So I disagree with the claim that MS's main problem is that they had poor PR. The core problem is that they made a device that consumers haven't historically been interested in, and they forcefully bundled it with a camera device that their core demographic believes to be crap.

and the always on Kinect, which I consider a silly complaint anyway because why on Earth would MS want to watch me play BF4 in my room?

Click to expand...

Because they want to know if you're drinking Coca Cola or Pepsi while gaming so that they can do demographic research to sell on to marketing companies. They want to know what adverts hold your attention while watching live TV. They want to know how many people are in the room so that you don't invite too many friends over to watch a downloaded movie. This isn't crazy conspiracy material, Microsoft literally has patents on all this stuff. Kinect has the potential to be a marketing goldmine.

Do I believe that some guy at MS is going to be watching me play Halo? No, they have computers to analyse the data without transmitting the images. Do I believe MS would gather this data without my consent? I didn't before the NSA revelations, now I'm less sure, but probably not. However, I do recognise the concerns and the potential scope for abuse.

Either way, it's not much of an issue now as the Kinect isn't required for the console to work any more. The bigger concern about Kinect now is that it has pushed up the console's price by about $100.

As someone who likes their 360 (except the paywall stuff), a more powerful version of it sounds great.

Click to expand...

Meh, I like change when it comes to technology and the like. That's why I like WIndows 8. Different.

I find this idea that games consoles should attempt to reinvent the wheel each generation to be daft, and it's something that has only cropped up since the Xbox One reveal, funnily enough.

Click to expand...

It is logical though. Innovation can sometimes be a funny, spur of the moment kinda thing.

Nobody was crying out for such things in previous generations, people just seemed to be happy to purchase new games consoles that were more powerful than the previous generation. The PS1 could play CDs and the PS2 could play DVDs, but they were still predominantly games consoles.

Click to expand...

MS may want a console that can do more. Modern automobiles don't just get you to Point B anymore. They do entertainment and fun.

Then the PS3 was announced as an all-in-one entertainment box... and nobody bought the damn thing. It wasn't until there was a steep price cut and some great exclusive games that the PS3 really took off.

Click to expand...

Rightly so. People were skeptical. $600 is steep. But most people will see this console that seemingly does everything and be perfectly within their rights to be wary straight out of the gate. Personally, I find people who buy Flight 1 consoles slightly silly. Let them work the bugs out first.

People bought the Wii instead because that seemed like a fun new way to play games. Which it was, for a couple of weeks. That's when people realised that motion controls weren't as useful for playing games as the boring old controllers, and Wiis around the world began gathering dust as gamers went back to playing Xbox and Playstation.

Click to expand...

Not to mention the larger collection of games, HD support, more intuitive home screens, DVD playability, superior online support, etc.

Then the Kinect came out and made the Wii controls seem good by comparison.

Click to expand...

I find the Kinect far superior, at least I don't need a damn wand and mine follows me just fine.

So I disagree with the claim that MS's main problem is that they had poor PR.

Click to expand...

That's your right.

The core problem is that they made a device that consumers haven't historically been interested in, and they forcefully bundled it with a camera device that their core demographic believes to be crap.

Click to expand...

I've seen more complaints about the online "check in" than the Kinect.

Because they want to know if you're drinking Coca Cola or Pepsi while gaming so that they can do demographic research to sell on to marketing companies. They want to know what adverts hold your attention while watching live TV.

Click to expand...

Google and Facebook and even the BBS does that job easilly, it is illogical to assume that they would use the Kinect to do the same job that computers and web servers can do without it.

They want to know how many people are in the room so that you don't invite too many friends over to watch a downloaded movie.

Click to expand...

How could they do that? Why would they do that?

This isn't crazy conspiracy material, Microsoft literally has patents on all this stuff. Kinect has the potential to be a marketing goldmine.

Click to expand...

Through games. Not stuff like this.

Do I believe that some guy at MS is going to be watching me play Halo? No, they have computers to analyse the data without transmitting the images. Do I believe MS would gather this data without my consent? I didn't before the NSA revelations, now I'm less sure, but probably not. However, I do recognise the concerns and the potential scope for abuse.

Click to expand...

I have, on my computer, a webcam, as many of us do. Do I believe that somebody at Samsung, Skype, Facebook, or Microsoft can hack it and watch me type this? Yes. Anybody can hack anything if they want to. The question is why. That one in a million(exageration, I don't know the statistics) criminal who decided to go watch a random Mexican dude in Texas can do so. But I recognize that as a part of the risk of being on the internet. It's not a box that we just run around in by ourselves, it's a large system that has millions of people on any given moment going to Google and Facebook and the like. The internet is like a public library, yes you can be solitary and not bothered and ignored, but just because the chance that some idiot can fuck with you, and maybe one did, doesn't mean that everyone will.

Either way, it's not much of an issue now as the Kinect isn't required for the console to work any more. The bigger concern about Kinect now is that it has pushed up the console's price by about $100.

Click to expand...

The price will come down as it always has. Give it a few months or so. Me? I'm happy with my 360 right now. Won't be changing anything anytime soon.